Greeting to the Sun

In Zadar, at the southern end of the waterfront, visitors will find the famous work from architect Nikola Basic "Greeting to the Sun". Here, a light installation has been put into the ground of the waterfront measuring 22 meters in diameter. Once the sun has disappeared behind the mountains of the Ugljan Islands, the lights on the circular area display their colorful dance. The apparently irregular, flickering colored lights create a unique spectacle of color. In actuality, it is not irregular, but a system designed to play with light that mimics the rhythm of the waves.

The architect built his light installation in 2008 in close proximity to his first work on the waterfront of Zadar: The Sea Organ. With the round formation he wanted to create a two-dimensional solar system. 300 multi-layer glass plates form the soil, the sun and around 8 more glass plates symbolize the planets of the solar system. They are not only placed to scale with the sun, but also placed at the proper distance into the ground. In the glass plates, Nikola Basic has integrated solar cells and small, colored bulbs. In this way, the light is converted into energy during the day - which is used for illuminating the waterfront - and in the evening the colored dots begin their dance as the night sky over Zadar makes its appearance. Together with the nearby "Sea Organ", the "Greeting to the Sun" is not only an unusual, even spectacular sight, but also one of the most popular places in the city - for residents as well as for tourists.